Meet the Friars

	fr. Richard Archer, O.P. is our Priory Steward – paying the bills, keeping computerized accounts, getting in the supplies, and keeping us shipshape in maintenance of our aging house. He also sends out dozens of CD’s of Jude’s preaching reflections each week to patrons around the world. We are all grateful for his attentiveness in 2008 to a serious mold abatement project by working with the contractor and insurance adjustor. In June 2008, he celebrated his 50th Jubilee of ordination.

	fr. Bert Ebben, O.P. -- who was the founding provincial of the Southern Province (1979-1984) -- spends half the year in Raleigh broken up by two three month periods in Kenya where he supervises three development projects. [See the section on Kenya Mission for details.] Bert has spent most of his religious life in Africa, first in Nigeria for 20 years during which time he was two-term vicar provincial of the St. Joseph the Worker Province in the 1970s, and then since the late 1980s in East Africa. When he's with us in Raleigh, he frequently celebrates the African Masses in the diocese, besides being our landscaper and vegetable, herb & flower gardener.

	fr. Paul Philibert, O.P. -- has spent most of his Dominican life as a professor of religion and pastoral theology, and he publishes in those areas. He recently translated a series of important articles by Cardinal Yves Congar on liturgical theology that will appear next year under the title At the Heart of Christian Worship. Paul was Prior Provincial of the Southern Dominican Province some years ago and, more recently, Prior of the Albertinum -- the international priory of the Dominican Friars at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is at present a member of the Commission on Studies of the Order of Preachers.

	fr. Jorge Rátiva – is the newest member of the community. A native of Tunja, Colombia, Jorge was ordained to the diaconate on December 12, 2009, and he is now doing an internship in campus ministry at the Duke University Catholic Center. His particular emphasis at Duke is on ministry with the Latino community, cultural diversity and spiritual formation for leadership. Previously, as a student brother for our province, Jorge ministered to the Hispanic community at Raleigh’s Sacred Heart Cathedral.

	fr. Bruce Schultz, O.P. -- is our Prior and serves as a part-time Catholic campus minister at North Carolina Central University, a historically African American institution in nearby Durham, NC. Bruce has worked most of his religious life in the Black Catholic community -- serving as pastor of two African American parishes and earning a Master's in Black Catholic Studies from the Institute for Black Catholic Studies of Xavier University of Louisiana. Bruce is available for parish missions and other itinerant preaching.

	fr. Jude Siciliano, O.P. is our community's Lector, keeping us current with developments in theology and pastoral issues. Jude continues his itinerant preaching ministry, giving parish retreats and preaching workshops throughout the country. While traveling and at home, he writes his weekly internet reflections on the Sunday scriptures for preachers and laity. He also is a homiletics instructor in summer preaching institutes, and has developed a Circle Preaching cycle of workshops to prepare lay preachers. In addition, Jude is the promoter of our Raleigh area Dominican Laity group. Jude is the Promoter of Preaching for the Southern Dominican Province and served as the first Student Director for the Province in the 1980s.

	fr. Steve Smith, O.P. continues to serve the Diocese of Raleigh as Vicar for Priests, and most weekends preaches around the diocese, or across the country for the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging appealing for families to support a child or elderly person overseas. He also works on dozens of marriage cases with the diocesan tribunal each year. Steve also is our Recycling Advocate, diligently separating glass, plastic, paper and aluminum each week for Raleigh’s effort to go Green. For the first half of his Dominican life, Steve was a missionary in Pakistan. In June 2008, he celebrated his 50th Jubilee of ordination.

Also assigned to our community but living elsewhere are fr. Marty Iott, O.P. who now lives at the Friends of God Dominican Ashram in Adrian, Michigan, and fr. Leobardo Almazán, O.P. who is doing advanced studies in Rome. We are also the "home away from home" for fr. Minlib Dallh, O.P., who met our Province through this community and now is completing advanced studies in Islam at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.